Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons #6) - Lorraine Heath Page 0,76

Her thoughts were absurd. She wanted him to teach her about seduction, passion, and pleasure. Had she thought their paths wouldn’t cross except during lessons?

She couldn’t engage with him outside of lessons. She’d sought him out for a purpose, had plans, and becoming involved with him would derail them.

The rap on her door nearly had her leaping out of her skin. Reaching into her still-unbuttoned frock, she grabbed hold of her corset, tugged, tugged, tugged it out, and tossed it toward the bed. It fell short and landed with a plunk on the floor.

“It’s Beast.”

“One moment.” It was ridiculous to require any modesty at this point. Still, she rapidly buttoned up her frock before opening the door a crack and peering out. Why couldn’t he look as though he, too, had been ravished? She should have untidied him a bit. How did the ladies here ever act normal around a man with whom they’d been intimate? She needed to make inquiries on the morrow.

He seemed to be searching for evidence that he had indeed caressed her, tasted her, suckled various areas. “You left these in the coach.”

She dropped her gaze to his hand, a hand terribly skilled at eliciting pleasure, that presently had a pair of cream-colored gloves draped over it. Very carefully, without touching him, she slid them from his grasp. “Thank you. And thank you for the lesson in the coach.”

“It wasn’t a bloody lesson.”

She licked her lips. “Then what happened in the carriage was a mistake. It would be best if our activities were limited to lessons only.”

She didn’t know how it was possible to describe him as going any quieter, but it seemed that somehow he had.

“I’m a firm believer in doing what’s best,” he finally said without a single trace of irony. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a packet wrapped in brown paper secured with string. “Your winnings.”

Good Lord, she’d almost forgotten about that. Because she hadn’t brought a reticule with her, he’d offered to carry it for her. She took it, clutched it, along with her gloves, to her breast. “As I now have this, I’ll purchase the frocks and other items Beth is sewing for me.”

“You don’t think it would be wiser to save it for a rainy day?”

“Today was a rainy day.” At her little quip, she’d hoped for a brief smile or a half smile or at least a quirk of his lips.

With a nod, he reached out and trailed his forefinger along her jaw. She should have stepped back and closed the door. Instead, she fell into the depth of his gaze as he tracked the movement of his finger along her flesh. His thumb joined in to hold her chin as he lowered his mouth to hers. Unlike the others, this kiss was tender, sweet, slow like the first buds of spring unfurling. It communicated sorrow, regret, apology . . . desire, yearning, need.

When he pulled away, he pressed his thumb to her dampened lips. “I’ve found I learn more from my mistakes than I do from my successes.”

Leaving her there, battling not to call him back, he strode into his study at the far end of the hallway and closed the door with a bit more force than he normally did, and she wondered if he was going to spend his time in there murdering someone on foolscap.

Chapter 18

Once more he failed to show at breakfast. Another lie-in supposedly, although she didn’t accept that explanation. More likely he was avoiding her, or the temptation of her.

To her astonishment, none of the ladies had ever been to a gaming hell. They plied her with questions, their eyes dancing with excitement as they gave her their rapt attention while she described the decor, the atmosphere, the customers.

“We should all take a night off and go,” Lily announced, her voice brimming with enthusiasm at the potential for mischief.

It was agreed they would do so during the evening of Boxing Day.

At some point during the morning, he slipped out of the residence without her noticing. In order to “see to some business,” Jewel told her.

Perhaps he needed to meet with merchants who were waiting on cargo or one of his ships had returned from its voyage. She would like to be at the docks to watch one of his ships arrive, stroll along its deck, stand at the helm with him at her side. It was a dangerous thing to imagine him beside her, regardless of what she did or